I read your comment above after I posted that. No slight was intended to your fine recap of the theater’s history. I originally posted the USC photo on the Broadway theater page. That’s where Ken Roe mentioned the Broadway entrance. Apologies for my oversight.
Denny, your last line sounds like the beginning of a Mickey Spillane novel…“I worked the day shift out of the Roxie. The walls were red. My eyes were redder, probably because of the cheap gin I had for breakfast. One night, this dame walked into my projection booth…”
I don’t have any outside info as to where the theater was situated, but the 1949 picture would appear to put it on the beach side. Perhaps it was near the Venice Pier and the surrounding amusement area.
Are you referring to the 1949 photo or the 1938 photo? I had a question about the location of the later photo as it appears to be on the beach side of Ocean Front Walk.
This photo shows the Broadway at the north end of the street. It’s a little hard to make out, but it shows you the location relative to the other businesses. The photo of Chicken Boy is a bonus: http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008061.jpg
I doubt if anyone will wax nostalgic when the Wells Fargo building on Bunker Hill is razed fifty or sixty years from now. “That was a great skyscraper, wasn’t it?”
I thought this 1946 photo was interesting as it shows the theater as being open all night. As I have read, many theaters were open 24 hours during the war as the workers were on staggered shifts. This may have been a carryover: http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics05/00022471.jpg
The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. Construction was ongoing when I walked by today. The auditorium has been stripped. There was a sign next to the cashier’s booth forbidding sex and alcohol in the theater, a carryover from the adult theater days.
The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. The boards were off today, and work was going on inside. The auditorium has been completely stripped, as far as I could tell. There is a sign by the cashier’s booth inside forbidding sex and alcohol inside the theater, a carryover from the aduly film days.
This site states, inaccurately I believe, that the State was called the Minnesota in 1929. According to CT, there was a Minnesota Theater at another address: http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/ae2.asp
This isn’t a great photo, but you can see the Granada marquee down the road:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics01/00020001.jpg
That looks like a “must buy” for me, being from Absecon. Great news.
The western extension of the mall is now closed. A 12 screen Landmark Theater complex is due to open in Summer 2007. I guess we’ve come full circle.
I read your comment above after I posted that. No slight was intended to your fine recap of the theater’s history. I originally posted the USC photo on the Broadway theater page. That’s where Ken Roe mentioned the Broadway entrance. Apologies for my oversight.
Denny, your last line sounds like the beginning of a Mickey Spillane novel…“I worked the day shift out of the Roxie. The walls were red. My eyes were redder, probably because of the cheap gin I had for breakfast. One night, this dame walked into my projection booth…”
Here is a 1968 photo from the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/spnb1/00017157.jpg
Here is another photo from 1926 that shows the marquee on Broadway:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics49/00059101.jpg
This photo shows an advertisement for the Pantages on the side of the building:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008037.jpg
This photo shows Dalton’s Theater:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008051.jpg
This is another LA Library photo from the 1930s:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008028.jpg
I don’t have any outside info as to where the theater was situated, but the 1949 picture would appear to put it on the beach side. Perhaps it was near the Venice Pier and the surrounding amusement area.
This is a photo of the Broadway entrance, which Ken Roe has said existed from only 1923 to 1929:
http://tinyurl.com/jua7f
Are you referring to the 1949 photo or the 1938 photo? I had a question about the location of the later photo as it appears to be on the beach side of Ocean Front Walk.
This photo shows the Broadway at the north end of the street. It’s a little hard to make out, but it shows you the location relative to the other businesses. The photo of Chicken Boy is a bonus:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008061.jpg
This 1938 photo was taken at the same time as William Gabel’s photo at the top of the page:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015712.jpg
Everybody loves a revival:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics50/00059885.jpg
I doubt if anyone will wax nostalgic when the Wells Fargo building on Bunker Hill is razed fifty or sixty years from now. “That was a great skyscraper, wasn’t it?”
Here is a 1946 photo of the Rialto, with the Music Hall a bit north:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028847.jpg
I thought this 1946 photo was interesting as it shows the theater as being open all night. As I have read, many theaters were open 24 hours during the war as the workers were on staggered shifts. This may have been a carryover:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics05/00022471.jpg
Here is a 1949 photo from the LA Library:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics19/00009146.jpg
The GCC Northeast was on or near the intersection of Welsh Road and Roosevelt Boulevard. I think it’s listed here on CT.
The Main has been converted to retail space. There is no trace of the theater remaining, but the narrow interior suggests an auditorium.
The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. Construction was ongoing when I walked by today. The auditorium has been stripped. There was a sign next to the cashier’s booth forbidding sex and alcohol in the theater, a carryover from the adult theater days.
The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. The boards were off today, and work was going on inside. The auditorium has been completely stripped, as far as I could tell. There is a sign by the cashier’s booth inside forbidding sex and alcohol inside the theater, a carryover from the aduly film days.
This is a January 2005 article about the re-opening of the Varsity:
http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/01/21/62864
This site states, inaccurately I believe, that the State was called the Minnesota in 1929. According to CT, there was a Minnesota Theater at another address:
http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/ae2.asp